


Here in My Head

by EvaM



Series: Little Aftershocks [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Hogwarts House Sorting, Slytherins Being Slytherins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:34:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25808188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvaM/pseuds/EvaM
Summary: Hermione might have had the most unexpected sorting of the night, but it wasn't the only complicated one.
Series: Little Aftershocks [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1872427
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	Here in My Head

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to be posting at least a few alternate POV and extra scene fics from Little Earthquakes. I just love these kids too much not to give them more screen time. This fic in particular (the first, but probably not last of its kind) was written because the next chapter of LE is coming along slowly and I wanted to give you guys something in the world.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

“Bulstrode, Millicent!”  
  
 **_Hello there.  
_ ** **_  
_** _Hi, hat. I guess Slytherin probably?_

**_Yes, actually. But would you like to know why? It’s not the reason you’re thinking._ **

_Well, you can’t just say that and expect me not to want to know the reason._

**_You think it’s because you’re coming out of a family of Death Eaters who bit, clawed, and scraped their way to mediocrity and Slytherin is the only place where you’ll be accepted._ **

_It’s not?_

**_Not even close. You’d do quite well in Hufflepuff and not terribly in the other two. No, you belong in Slytherin because you’re determined to be better than the legacy your family built for you. You’re not interested in biting and clawing your way to anywhere and you’re equally disinterested in being mediocre._ **

_I can be good in Slytherin without the..._ ~~_violence_~~ _pushiness?_

 **_Without question. You can be great.  
_ ** **_  
_** _Okay. Okay, thanks for talking to me._

**_You’re welcome, Millicent. Congratulations on - SLYTHERIN!_ **

* * *

“Crabbe, Vincent!”

**_Hello_** **.**

_Hi. Slytherin please._

**_That makes sense. Are you absolutely sure?_ **

_Yeah. It’s where my friends are going._ ~~_And where my dad was._~~

 **_Alright then. Enjoy your time in - SLYTHERIN!_ ** **_  
_**

* * *

“Davis, Tracey!”

**_Well, hello. You’ve got quite a bit to prove, don’t you?_ **

_I guess you could say that._

**_You’re quite clever. You could do well in Ravenclaw._ **

_No thanks. I hate studying._

**_You hate studying books. You’re quite adept at studying people though, aren’t you?_ **

_Sort of feels like I have to be.  
_ _  
_**_Well, there’s one house where that will serve you above all the rest. But you already knew that, didn’t you?_ **

_I was waiting for you to say it.  
_ _  
_**_I’m saying it now. Better be - SLYTHERIN!_ **

* * *

**_“_** Goyle, Gregory!”

**_Hello Gregory. There’s no need to be concerned. You’re plenty ambitious for Slytherin._ **

_Are you sure? I don’t feel very ambitious._

**_Aspiring to be the best friend you can be, the most steadfast protector is a quiet, gentle sort of ambition. Others won’t recognize it. That doesn’t mean it’s not real._ **

_Okay._ ~~_I don’t want to be like him._~~ _Will I-_

**_Aspiring not to become your father is its own kind of ambition. I’m no soothsayer, just a tattered hat that’s seen too many centuries, but take heart anyway when I tell you that you won’t fail. Let’s get you down there. Mister Crabbe will be waiting._ **

_Wait._

**_Yes?_ **

_Draco hasn’t been sorted yet. One of us should be with him. What if he’s not in Slytherin?_

**_I can’t tell you the future, Gregory. All I can tell you is that your home is - SLYTHERIN!_ **

* * *

_“_ Greengrass, Daphne!”

**_Good evening, Miss Greengrass. Welcome to Hogwarts._ **

_Thanks, Sorting Hat. Is it going to be terribly awkward to have three Slytherins in a row? I imagine Granger was a bit of a surprise.  
_ _  
_**_We’re discussing you. You’re very certain Slytherin is where you belong.  
_ ** **_  
_** _It’s what I was expecting. That and ~~my mother~~_ ~~_won’t accept another house._~~ _Am I not...formidable enough for Slytherin? I know I’m not very much like her.  
_ _  
_**_There are plenty of ways to be formidable. No one is asking you to be your mother._  
** **_  
_** ~~_Well that’s just not true._~~ _Okay? So Slytherin then.  
_ _  
_**_You’ve got quite a mind for puzzles and you’re very fierce when you need to be._ **

_Next are you going to tell me I’m loyal too?  
_ _  
_**_You are, when it counts. Are you prepared to have that loyalty tested?_ **

_It doesn’t really feel like I have any other choice.  
_ _  
_**_You do. You always do.  
_ ** **_  
_** _Put me in Slytherin please.  
_ _  
_**_In my centuries of serving Hogwarts, I never cease to be amazed at the burden of legacy that families place upon their children._ **

~~_I hate it._~~ _I can handle it._

**_You can. You will be a great - SLYTHERIN!_ **

* * *

“Longbottom, Neville!”

_Hello._

**_There’s no need to be so nervous, Neville. You deserve to be here.  
_ ** **_  
_** _I didn’t- oh, okay. I guess you can read my mind. This is pretty embarrassing._

**_I’m a talking piece of felt. I’m not even as fashionable as your grandmother’s vulture. There is no need to be embarrassed around me._ **

_Everyone is staring at me. Are you sure they aren’t all thinking I don’t deserve to be here? Looking at what a disappointing loser Frank and Alice Longbottom’s son turned out to be?_

**_You’re so hard on yourself.  
_ ** **_  
_** _Yeah, at least I’m good at that. Maybe I should be in Hufflepuff then if you’re sure I’m enough of a wizard to be sorted.  
_ _  
_**_You allowed your uncle to drop you out a window.  
_ ** **_  
_** _Well, he was trying to help me use magic and to be fair he didn’t mean to drop me. And it worked! I can do magic. Right?  
_ _  
_**_Neville, you allowed your uncle to drop you out a window and push you off a pier, all in pursuit of your natural magic._ **

_Yeah?_

**_That doesn’t strike you as- oh, I don’t know- brave?_ **

_Brave? You can’t mean-_

**_I can and I do. You’re a wizard. You belong at Hogwarts. You belong in - GRYFFINDOR!_ **

* * *

“Malfoy, Draco!”

_Slytherin._

**_Yes. Good luck in - SLYTHERIN!_ **

* * *

**“** Nott, Theodore!”

_Hi. Slytherin I guess?_

**_Most likely. Your loyalty would make you an admirable Hufflepuff. Its sharp edges would make you an even more admirable Slytherin._ **

_I don’t feel all that loyal or admirable. Mostly I just feel like the shitty son of a shitty dad._

**_Well then it’s a good thing you won’t see him for a while. I think you’ll find some like minds with your special brand of loyalty in - SLYTHERIN!_ **

* * *

“Parkinson, Pansy!” 

_If you don’t put me in_ ~~_Draco’s house_~~ _Slytherin I will set you on fire. I could do it- setting fires was the first accidental magic I did and I know I could do it on purpose if I had to.  
_ _  
_**_Young Mister Malfoy is lucky to have a friend that will set the world on fire to keep him warm. Do try to see where else you can channel that determination. They won’t know what hit them in - SLYTHERIN!_ **

* * *

“Patil, Parvati!”

**_Well now, what have we here? The other half of the Patil twins. Kind, clever, quick-witted. These could serve you well in all four houses._ **

_My sister is the clever one._

**_There’s no rule that says you can’t both be clever. But we’re here to determine what house you’ll be spending the next seven years in. Let’s take a look at what you want._ **

_I want to be with my friends. Padma’s in Ravenclaw. Pansy went to Slytherin with Daphne. Susan went to Hufflepuff. Any of those would be fine._

**_Now let’s take a look at what you need._ **

_Excuse me?_

**_You need a chance to step out of your sister’s academic shadow. You need a chance to figure out who you are outside of your family’s expectations._ **

_What do you mean?_

**_I mean that it’s time for you to see how strong you are when you stand on your own two feet.  
_ ** **_  
_** _I don’t understand.  
_ **_  
_** **_You will. Stand tall in - GRYFFINDOR!_ **

* * *

“Zabini, Blaise!”

**_Hello there, Mister Zabini._ **

_Hello there, Sorting Hat. Is this going to take long? I’m last and I’m hungry.  
_ _  
_**_Quite the mind on you. You could really shine in Ravenclaw.  
_ ** **_  
_** _You’re fucking with me.  
_  
 **_A bit. Forgive this old hat its fun.  
_ ** **_  
_**_Forgiven. I’m sure you’re very funny but I really am hungry and my friends are waiting._

**_One last bit of advice and then I’ll let you tuck in._ **

_I’m listening._

**_Slytherin is fiercely insular. Its best are loyal to a fault._ **

_You don’t think that’s me._

**_You’re unquestionably a Slytherin. Cunning, quick-witted, willing to do whatever it takes to get what you want._ **

~~_When you consider who raised me_~~ _Okay, so what’s your point?_

**_My point is that Slytherin might be a house where people watch their backs, but it’s also one to know who you can trust to watch yours for you._ **

_Okay, so you think I should trust more people or they should trust me?_

**_I’m a hat. I don’t think anything and I’ve kept you long enough. Try not to break too many hearts (or necks) in - SLYTHERIN!_ **


End file.
